


Half of Me Has Gone Away

by ithasthegay_fanfiction



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: BAMF Lance (Voltron), Black Paladin Lance (Voltron), Fluff and Angst, Langst, M/M, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-05-09 20:37:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14723190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ithasthegay_fanfiction/pseuds/ithasthegay_fanfiction
Summary: It had gotten worse for Lance at the Castle of Lions. He didn’t know what to do anymore. Everything Lance did was wrong, every move he made was somehow the worst thing he could have done, and he was getting sick and tired of it. Shiro was constantly on his back about stuff he didn’t do and he couldn’t even stand up for himself without getting yelled at by Shiro. Lance honestly felt like he was going to explode with everything he kept bottling up inside himself.orI had a bunch of headcanons after the release of season 5 and was convinced to write out a full story for them





	Half of Me Has Gone Away

**Author's Note:**

> screAMMMMMMM  
> i have been working on this since season five premiered in March  
> comments and kudos are my lifeblood  
> come talk to me on tumblr @it-has-the-gay-fanfiction

“I found my mom.” 

Lance stared at the pixelated version of Keith on his screen in shock. It had been so long since he had seen Keith. It had probably been what… four weeks now?  _ Too long.  _ “Y-your?” Lance started to stutter out.

“Yeah,” Keith smiled softly, “my mom. Lance… I’ve waited so long for this. I-I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel about her.” Keith sighed softly and ran his hand through his hair. Lance’s whole body ached. He wished he was there with Keith or that Keith was here with him. Lance hated that they had to talk through a screen late at night when they were both supposed to be sleeping. Lance hated how lonely he was, how ostracized he had become ever since Keith left, honestly, Lance just hated how half of his  _ team _ had left him all alone. Sure, he was surrounded by people, but Lance was always alone, always left out. Team Punk and Matt always brushed him off when he wanted to hang out. Allura and Lotor were off practicing their alchemy, so Lance had no use or need to bother them. Coran always tried to rope him into cleaning the cryopods or some other chore, which had started to actually feel like a chore instead of something to look forward to like it had been before Keith had left. And Shiro…. Shiro had been so off. He had  _ yelled _ at Lance. 

“I’m happy for you man.” Lance said instead of everything else he wanted to say, everything he wanted Keith to know. “If you need to talk about it, I’m always here for you.” Lance smiled softly at Keith, who returned the smile a moment later. “You really should come see me- us,” Lance quickly corrected,” come see  _ us  _ soon. Okay?”

Keith laughed softly, fading into a yawn. “Yeah, I’ll come see  _ you _ soon. Goodnight Lance.” 

Lance’s face heated slightly, “Goodnight, Mullet.” Lance tapped the screen to end the call, but missed the hang up button, not that he noticed. Lance set his tablet down on the bed beside him before curling into a ball, hugging his pillow to his chest. He really hoped Keith meant it. He really hoped they would see each other soon. 

The truth was that Lance was always alone and it made his heart ache. He felt like he shouldn’t even be in Voltron anymore, felt that he had no purpose. Lance choked back a sob, not wanting to cry alone in the dark of his room again. He tried to calm himself down, but the terrible thoughts kept racing through his head, making him feel even worse. This time he didn’t hold back the sob that ripped itself from his throat. He shook as he tried to muffle his sobs, he didn’t want to wake the important members of the team anyways. 

“G-get-get yourself together, L-Lance.” Lance said to himself, trying to get his emotions under control. “Ju-just because n-no one cares about you or ne-eds you, doesn’t mean you g-get to cry about it every- every night.” Lance’s breath hitched as he tried to get himself under control. The tears wouldn’t stop, and it wasn’t long before he cried himself to sleep. 

* * *

“Oh Lance… I wish I could be there... “ Keith sighed softly as he stared at his tablet. He knew he should have hung up when it was clear that Lance had missed the button, but something compelled him to stay on the line. Now he wasn’t sure if that was the best decision. His whole body ached at the thought that Lance cried himself to sleep, at the thought that Lance was all alone on a ship full of people. Keith didn’t know what to do, he couldn’t just leave to go take care of Lance, not even when his whole body yearned to be wrapped around the lanky Cuban’s. It wasn’t his place. “Next time I see you... “ Keith sighed and his body slumped, “goodnight, Lance. Don’t let them get you down.” Keith ended the call and stared at the ceiling. The Blade needed him…  _ but does Lance need me more? _

* * *

It had gotten worse for Lance at the Castle of Lions. He didn’t know what to do anymore. Everything Lance did was wrong, every move he made was somehow the worst thing he could have done, and he was getting sick and tired of it. Shiro was constantly on his back about stuff he didn’t do and he couldn’t even stand up for himself without getting yelled at by Shiro. Lance honestly felt like he was going to explode with everything he kept bottling up inside himself. 

Lance growled and rolled out of the way of the gladiator’s staff, swinging his sword out in a wide arc as he came out of the roll.  _ Focus, Lance! You need to get better.  _ He shook his limbs out and rushed at the bot. He jumped up and twisted his body around midair to avoid a strike from the gladiator’s staff, using his momentum from the movement to bring his sword down on the bot’s head. Lance dropped to the floor and looked up to see the bot fall apart at his feet. The red paladin pushed himself up and stuck his sword in the ground so that he could lean against it to catch his breath. 

Before Lance could call for the next level to start, the alarms went off. He growled under his breath and returned his bayard to its normal form before running towards the control room. Lance burst through the doors, breathing harshly, and just barely stopped himself from flinching when he realized that he was the last one there. 

“Lance. You’re late.” Shiro said harshly and glared down at the panting red paladin. Lance flinched a little and clenched his fists. 

“S-sorry! I was-” Lance started to say before Shiro cut him off.

“I don’t want to hear your excuses, Lance! You are always the last one here. Can’t you see that you’re dragging the team down?!” Shiro yelled practically in Lance’s face. 

Lance narrowed his eyes and pushed a finger into Shiro’s chest, “Shut up, Shiro! You’re not acting like yourself. The old Shiro wouldn’t yell at me every time I make a small mistake or show up late. The old Shiro would at least give me the chance to say that I had been training before this!” Lance growled out. “I don’t know who you are anymore, but you’re not my Shiro.” Lance pushed Shiro out of the way so he could get to his seat. He crossed his arms and stood in front of his seat, looking around the room as if daring the others to disagree. 

No one said anything for a minute, not even Shiro, who had a murderous expression on his face. Allura cleared her throat, “Okay paladins… I am choosing to ignore what just happened to brief you on the mission. We received a distress signal from a nearby planet. We need to get to the lions and go down to the planet’s surface to find out why they sent out the distress signal. Since we don’t know what we are walking into, we must be prepared for anything. Let’s get to the lions.” Allura gave them all a look before heading for Blue. The rest of the paladins followed suit, though Lance kept a wary eye on Shiro, waiting for the older paladin to leave first.  _ What is going on with him… I don’t trust him anymore.  _ Lance stepped into the elevator and took it down to Red’s hangar.

* * *

Lance rolled and slashed at the legs of a Galra sentry as he ran down the halls of the Galra base they had infiltrated. The plan was to go in, take down the base, and free the planet. Obviously that hadn’t happened. The Galra had somehow known they were coming,  _ how did they know we were coming?! _

Lance ducked around a corner, “Guys, I could use some help over here. I’m a little pinned down right now!”

“Sorry, bud! I’m a little busy at the moment!” Hunk grunted out over the sound of distant gunfire that was also coming over the coms.

“We’re all pinned, Lance.” Pidge huffed into the mic and cut out after that. Lance changed his bayard into its normal rifle form and shot down a few more sentries as he ran down the hall in the direction of the exit.

“I’m headed your direction, Lance.” Shiro’s voice sounded over the coms and even though Lance still didn’t trust this new Shiro, he really needed the back up.

“Thanks…” Lance fired off a shot and ran down the hallway towards Shiro’s blip on his tracker. He had a bad feeling that he couldn’t shake, but Lance didn’t know what to do other than keep moving. 

“Lance! Up here.” Shiro yelled from down the hall. Lance looked up and sped down the hall towards the other paladin. 

“Shiro! Thank goodness you’re here. I’m sorry about ea-” Lance was cut off with a wheeze as he was slammed roughly against the wall by a hand on his throat. He looked up with wide eyes at the murderous look on Shiro’s face. “Sh-iro?” Lance wheezed out and kicked out at Shiro. 

“I’m not Shiro, you idiot paladin, I’m his clone. Though you had your suspicions already didn’t you.” Not-Shiro grinned as his eyes flashed yellow and he started to tighten his grip on Lance’s neck. Lance wheezed and scratched at the hand encasing his throat, but it didn’t seem to faze the clone, even when blood ran down his hand.

“Wh-what are you g-going to do t-o me?” Lance wheezed out and tried to focus on making his bayard back into its sword form.

Not-Shiro laughed maniacally and started to activate his Galra arm, “I’m going to kill you and blame it on these Galra sentries.” 

Lance scowled and felt his bayard change, “You forgot one thing,” he gritted out and struggled against the hold.

“Oh yeah what’s that?” Not-Shiro growled out and started to tighten his hold on Lance’s neck.

Lance slammed his bayard up into Not-Shiro’s chest and shoved him back, “I’m a paladin of Voltron and we don’t go down that easy.” Lance rubbed his throat and watched as Shiro’s form melted away, leaving only the black armor from before. Lance dropped to his knees and gasped for breath.

“Lance! What happened?! Where’s Shiro!” Allura yelled over the coms. 

“H-he… he’s not here…. That wasn’t Shiro. He tried to kill me. Oh my god… he tried to kill me.” Lance keened and stared ahead, choking on his breath and shaking. He faintly hear someone calling his name over the coms and when they got no response, cursing sounded out. Lance stared down at the pieces of armor laying haphazardly in front of him. He could hardly believe it… and yet. It made perfect sense now that he knew what was going on. The Shiro that they had let into the castle wasn’t Shiro at all… he was a clone, probably sent by that witch Haggar to spy on them or something. Lance gripped the sides of his helmet and made small panicked noises, it was all too much. 

Then everything stopped.

Lance gasped and shot up when he heard the Black lion’s roar.

_ “It is your time, paladin. You saw that there was something wrong within your team even when the others did not, even when  _ I  _ did not.”  _ The Black lion’s voice was nothing like Blue’s flowing cadence or even the fire behind Red’s words. Black’s voice was calm and collected, sounding much older and experienced than either of the lions that Lance had been connected to before. 

“B-but… why? Why would you want the team screw up, the goofball, the resident comedic relief?!” Lance yelled out, unaware and uncaring of his surroundings and the fact that the coms were still relaying everything he said to the team. “Nobody wants me! So why do you?” Lance finished brokenly. 

Lance felt Black’s presence wrap around his mind, calming his raging thoughts.  _ “Lance. This is where you were always meant to be. I could not take you as my paladin when you first arrived at the castle because you were not ready yet. Blue had to take you as her cub and nurture you, build you up, before Red or I would be able to have you as ours. It was then Red’s turn to cultivate your fighting spirit. Through all of that, you have become stronger and it is finally time for you to take your rightful place as my paladin.”  _

“But what about Red? Now she won’t have a pilot and we won’t be able to form Voltron!” Lance looked back to the black armor in front of him. He heard the sound of someone running down the hall behind him, but paid no attention to it. Black chuffed in his head and Lance took that as her laughing at him. 

_ “It will be taken care of, Lance. She already has a pilot.”  _ Black sounded amused. 

“Keith... “ Lance breathed out. “He’s her pilot.” Black sent him a feeling of content and Lance relaxed as he started to gather up the armor. “We’ll get him back here with us. I’ll call him as soon as we get back to the castle.” 

“Lance!” Hunk yelled as he ran up to the newly appointed black paladin. “Lance are you okay! What happened?” Lance turned around and gave Hunk a half smile. His vision was red tinted in one eye,  _ must have popped a blood vessel when I got strangled.  _

“I’m okay.” Lance said softly, his voice worn out from screaming and getting his throat crushed. “I had to kill him… it wasn’t Shiro.” Lance looked down at the armor in his hands. 

Hunk looked horrified, “W-where did his body go?” Lance shook his head and sighed.

“It just kind of melted away, buddy. Come on, help me get this stuff back to the black lion, I’ll explain once we get everyone off the base and back to the castle.” Lance sighed again and started walking towards the black lion, expecting Hunk to follow. 

“Lance, what’s going on?” Pidge asked, her voice muddied by the coms. 

“Everyone get back to your lions, I’ll explain everything when we get back to the castle.” Lance rasped out, his voice starting to give after the abuse it had been through. Allura and Pidge gave affirmative responses and Lance watched as their blips on his tracker headed towards the lions. Lance relaxed a little when Black came into sight. “I’ve got it from here, Hunk.” 

“What do you mean ‘you’ve got it from here’?! You’re not even heading to your lion!” Hunk fretted over Lance, worried that his friend had gotten brain damage as a result of whatever Not-Shiro did to him. 

“No, Hunk. I’m finally at the right lion.” Lance smirked and turned back to the Black lion who dropped her jaw as he walked to her ramp. “See you back on the castle, buddy.”

* * *

Keith sighed and ran a hand over his face, weariness settling in his bones. Lately, it seemed he kept getting put on mission after mission, and since all communications were strictly forbidden while on missions, Keith hadn’t had a chance to get in contact with Lance or the team, and it had probably been months since he last talked with them. He missed it, god did he miss talking to them, especially Lance, he missed him the most out of the whole team. Keith couldn’t explain the pain in his chest that grew every day that he was away, but he tried to ignore it. Even though he couldn’t contact his team, he did have one familiar face, Krolia. After she had revealed to Kolivan their relation, the commander of the Blades started to pair them together on missions.  At first, Keith was less than pleased, after all, this woman was the one who abandoned him when he was young. As they spent more time together and started bonding, Keith’s attitude changed and instead of a cold indifference, he regarded his mother with a warm smile and soft words. 

Meeting Krolia and bonding with her was one of the greatest things to ever happen to Keith, not just because he had found out more about his past and got a mother as a bonus, no, Krolia was actually helping him unlock his dormant Galra genes. Turns out, Keith was severely malnourished by Galra standards, a fact that had Krolia fuming at the sight of Kolivan who never thought to introduce Keith to a Galra diet and care regimen. After that discovery had been made, Krolia worked on nurturing Keith’s latent Galra genes, making sure he was getting the right nutrients for a growing Galra and explaining all of Keith’s weird habits. For example, Keith could never get comfortable in a bed, he had to have constant pressure, which was why he always used to wear clothes to bed. What Keith actually needed was to be in a nest, made out of pillows and soft blankets, surrounded by his family or his mate. At least, that was how Krolia explained it to him, and he guessed it made sense, especially after he had made a nest of his own, falling asleep almost instantly once inside it. The nesting wasn’t the end of the Galra mannerisms that Krolia told Keith about, though she mainly seemed to be focusing on mating habits.  

“When a Galra has found a suitable mate, they will bring them gifts to prove they can provide for their chosen.” Krolia casually said as she flew back towards the main base. Krolia had taken to telling Keith of his heritage and such when they headed back from missions. Now was one of those times, they had just finished up with a small scouting mission and were heading back for their next assignment. 

“Mom.” Keith said in an exasperated tone. “Why are you so adamant about telling me all these mating habits? I don’t have a mate.” Keith crossed his arms and paced the length of the ship. “I’m barely Galra anyways.” Keith huffed and stopped beside the pilot’s chair so he could look out the window. 

Krolia ruffled his hair and scratched behind his ear, “Keith, you are more Galra than you think.  Have you not noticed the changes, my kit?” Keith leaned into her touch and felt a deep rumbling come from his chest.

“I-I… I haven’t really looked into the mirror in a while. I mean… I know my ears have changed. Something like that is kind of hard to miss.” Keith muttered defensively. Krolia laughed at him and tugged at his ear. Keith batted her hand away, “Stop that! That hurts.” Keith growled and flattened his ears. He stopped growling after she got the message to back off a little and let his ears stand back up.

“You did not notice?” Krolia frowned and tilted her head to the side. “How did you not notice the changes, kit.” Krolia cupped Keith’s cheek and turned his head from side to side.

Keith pouted and chewed on his bottom lip, “Like I said, I haven’t looked in a mirror for a while.” He rubbed his thumb and forefinger together, a nervous tick he hadn’t been able to drop, as he looked for a mirror.

Krolia traced something on Keith’s face, “You have my markings.” She smiled fondly, although it looked a little sad. “Do not worry, my kit. All these changes are not bad, they are just signs of your heritage. See for yourself.” She switched the controls over to autopilot and took Keith into the back of the ship where the bathroom was. She turned on the light in the small bathroom and turned Keith to face the mirror. 

“Oh… oh my god. Is that really me?” Keith breathed out in shock as he took in his new appearance. His ears had traveled to the top of his head, they were dark purple, fluffy, and distinctly Galra looking. This he knew, well, at least he knew they were on the upper part of his head. He had a mark similar to his mother’s travelling up the right side of his face. His eyes were more feline looking, slanting slightly more than they used to, though Keith was thankful that they weren’t yellow like other part-Galra he had met. Keith grimaced a little and his eyes narrowed in on his teeth. He lifted his top lip,  _ yep those are fangs. _ He paused when he noticed something else. _ Am I taller?  _ Keith looked back and forth between him and his mother’s reflections.  _ I  _ am  _ taller! No wonder I can reach the top shelf now! _

Krolia met his eyes in the mirror and smiled softly, “Yes, that really is you. Like I have said, do not worry about your looks, your mate will still be happy with you.”

Keith sputtered and whirled around, “My mate?!” Keith’s voice cracked and he felt his skin heat up as a blush covered his face. “I’ve told you I don’t have one!” He felt his ears flatten on the top of his head as a sign of his distress. 

“Now that is a lie. I can smell him on you, even though you have been apart for months. Do you not feel it in your chest, that aching need to be by his side, curled around him, and protecting him?” Krolia looked him over and sighed. 

“I-I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Keith croaked out and wrapped his arms around himself. He  _ had _ felt that, every time he thought about Lance his heart skipped a beat and he could feel his soul calling out for the other male. Krolia frowned and turned her back to Keith, heading back to the pilot’s chair. “What are you doing?” Keith asked as he trailed after her.

“I am hailing your team’s ship. You have been away from them for far too long, my kit. You are longing for your team as much as you are longing for your mate.” Krolia looked at Keith as he stepped up beside the pilot’s chair. “You said that you only joined the Blade of Marmora to find out more about your past, correct?” She tilted her head to the side.

“Yes…” Keith said without hesitation and watched as his mother’s eyes softened. 

“Then it is settled. You and I are leaving the Blade. There is no reason for us to stay there any longer. Kolivan will understand, especially when we mention that you have been away from your mate for too long. It is not good to let a courtship such as the one you have fizzle out. Your bond is very strong, even with you and your mate not acknowledging it.” Krolia looked away from Keith and inputted the communication code for the Castle of Lions. It only took a few ticks before someone at the castle answered the call.

Keith looked at he screen with concern when it was not Allura or one of the other paladins to answer the call. “Coran? What’s going on? Where is everyone?” Keith questioned, looking around the screen to try to figure out what was happening on the other end of the call. 

“Keith! We need you back at the castle. Lance has been trying to reach you for months.” Coran looked over at the screen briefly before focusing back on the battle at hand. “It’s bad, we need Vol-” Coran cut off as the caste shook, jerking him to the side. “Send me your coordinates! Voltron needs you Keith.” Coran gave Keith a frantic look as he readied himself to put in the coordinates. 

“Send him the coordinates.” Keith ordered with a grim expression on his face. He hated talking to his mother like that, but the only thing on his mind right then was getting to Lance. Lance needed him, Lance could be HURT! He felt his heart stutter in his chest and his breath came faster. 

Krolia placed a hand on his arm, “Calm down, kit. You need to keep your head on straight.” Krolia gave him one last look before she flew through the wormhole that Coran opened for them. Keith let out a long breath and readied himself. 

“I can only open the particle barrier for a few ticks, so you must be quick.” Coran said frantically before opening up a small hole near the hangers. “The red lion’s hanger is open, Keith you need to fly the red lion out there and help the other paladins!” 

Keith looked a little confused, but readied himself to leave the ship as his mother landed it in the hanger beside the dormant red lion. “Coran… where’s Lance?! Why isn’t he flying Red?” Keith asked frantically after he patched his comms into the castle’s. The ship shook as they took another hit and Keith skidded sideways as he scrambled towards Red. 

“There’s no time for that Keith! You need to get out there, we need Voltron!” Coran cut out after that. Keith skidded to a stop in front of Red’s particle barrier and looked up at the sleeping lion.

“Red, please, let me in. I need to help, I need to know what happened to my mate- my Lance.” Keith banged on the barrier and looked up with large indigo eyes at his lion. Red dropped the barrier and Keith rushed up the ramp, hearing a purr of welcome and of urgency in the back of his mind. He dropped down into the seat and grabbed the controls. “Let’s go, Red.” Keith pushed the controls down urging Red out into the battle. 

“Wait, the Red Lion just left it’s hanger!” Pidge yelled into the comms. 

“Keith…” Lance breathed out, his face popping up on the video feed. Keith felt his breath catch. 

“Lance.” Keith croaked out. “I thought… you aren’t in Red!” He looked over the other boy’s face for any sign of distress or injury. 

“We have a lot to catch up on, but for now, let’s form Voltron!” Lance grinned and winked at Keith. Keith paused for a moment before shaking his head and flying out to meet the other paladins to join together and form Voltron. 

* * *

The rest of the battle was a blur of purple lasers and explosions. The brief pain of Voltron being physically ripped apart. Lance could still feel the pain resonating through their bond when they reconnected, not to mention the bruised, maybe even broken, ribs and concussion he was sporting from being thrown around. The battle was over, though, the planet was saved, and Keith was  _ back.  _ Something inside of him was singing out in happiness at seeing the familiar face of Keith, even if he  _ was _ sporting some new additions to his look. Lance shook his head of his thoughts and landed the Black Lion beside the other lions. He gave her a quick pat as he walked down the ramp to exit the lion.

“Lance!” Keith yelled and Lance looked up just in time to see Keith running full speed for him. Lance’s eyes widened when he was swept  _ up _ into Keith’s arms and spun around. “I missed you.” Keith said softly into Lance’s hair where he had buried his face. 

“You’re taller…?” Lance questioned into Keith’s chest. He felt Keith laugh before the other man took a step back.

“Yeah, I’m almost as tall as my mom now.” Keith grinned, flashing very white teeth and  _ fangs?! _

“Wh- you- fangs??” Lance stuttered out, his eyes wide and a small blush covering his cheeks. The blush only deepened when Keith chuckled and took a step back, dropping his arms from Lance’s waist.

“My mom helped to nurture my Galra side and it kind of triggered some of my dormant genes I guess.” Keith shrugged and Lance watched as his ears pressed back a little.

“Are you upset about it?” Lance asked softly, stepping closer to Keith and reached a hand up to trace the mark on Keith’s cheek. “Because I don’t think you should be. You’re still the same Keith to me.” Lance took a deep breath and looked up into Keith’s eyes as he cupped Keith’s cheek. “I still feel the same way I did about you, the same way I’ve  _ always _ felt about you.” Keith’s eyes widened and his ears perked back up as he leaned into Lance’s hand. 

“And how do you feel about me…?” Keith asked softly, aware that the other paladins and his mother were starting to come over to them. 

“I think… I think I might be in love with you, Keith.” Lance said just as soft, he could feel his eyes going hazy, reminding him of his injuries, but he really didn’t care at the moment. Keith’s eyes lit up and a rumbling sound that sounded suspiciously like purring came from his chest. He nuzzled into Lance’s hair and wrapped his arms loosely around Lance’s waist.

“I’m so glad. I think I’ve been Galra courting you for months honestly.” Keith said into Lance’s hair, his voice coming out slightly muffled by his purring. Lance’s cheeks flared red and he tipped his head back to look at Keith in the eyes. 

“Seriously?” Lance questioned with a tilt of his head. Keith blushed and nodded with a half smile.

“I had no idea until recently honestly. My mom explained it to me more and it makes sense. I always had Galra tendencies, I just never knew what they were.” Keith shrugged. “But now I know, and I can put them to good use.” Keith pulled Lance close again and squeezed him. Lance let out a pained noise and his knees started to give from the pain. Keith let go of his chest and grabbed his hips to hold him up. “Lance?! What’s wrong?” Keith’s eyes were wide with worry. “Did you get hurt! This armor needs to come off right now.” Keith growled and reached for the clasp on the chest peice before he froze. “Black...armor?” 

Lance struggled to stay standing. “Mmm fine… my head jus’ feels kinda funny.” Lance slurred out and slumped against Keith again.  _ “Maybe I got hurt more than I thought”  _ was the last thought that ran through Lance’s head before he finally passed out. 

* * *

Keith whined and held Lance close to his chest, “Lance, Lance! Wake up, wake up!” Keith’s ears were flattened and he was shaking in distress. His mate had just collapsed, he was wearing the wrong armor, and Shiro was nowhere to be seen. His head was definitely not in the right space. 

“Keith. We need to get Lance to a pod.” Hunk leaned down into Keith’s view and reached for Lance. Keith growled and flicked his ears back in anger, holding Lance closer to his chest. No one was touching  _ his _ mate. Hunk withdrew his hand quickly. “Come on, Keith! He needs to go into a pod so we can figure out what’s wrong.” Hunk looked frantic, but Keith couldn’t focus on that.

“Let me take care of this…” Krolia spoke softly to the rest of the team, but due to Keith’s enhanced hearing, he heard her loud and clear. 

“And who are you? Are you another Blade member?” Allura asked, her tone none too happy. 

“She’s Keith’s mother.” Pidge broke in. “Remember, Lance was telling us that Keith had found her a couple months ago? Plus they have like the same face, so it must be her. You’re Krolia right?” Pidge asked, though Keith’s attention was focused back on the passed out paladin in his arms. He went back to work on quietly and gently removing Lance’s chest piece before he moved onto his arm bracers and finally the leg protectors. He made a small whining noise in the back of his throat and nuzzled into Lance’s hair. Footsteps headed in his direction causing Keith to whip his head up and bare his teeth with a growl. His mother gave him a disapproving look.

“Kit. Your mate is hurt and he needs to go into a healing pod.” Krolia said gently, but her tone was firm. Keith narrowed his eyes and pressed his ears to his skull.

“He’s mine. My mate.” Keith huffed out, seemingly unable to get much more out. He gently ran his fingers through Lance’s hair, brushing it out of his face. Krolia took a few more steps until she was right up in Keith’s space. She put a hand on his shoulder and let out a soothing rumbling noise to calm him down. Keith let out a long breath and visibly relaxed after a few moments. 

“I know he is yours, kit. The paladins and I are not trying to take him from you. We want to put him in a pod so he can heal. Do you not want him to heal?” Krolia tipped her head to the side, all the while still letting out the soothing purrs from her chest to keep Keith calm.

Keith whined, “Of course I want him to heal! I will take him there now and afterwards,” Keith paused, flicking his eyes up to the other paladins, “I want answers.” He didn’t wait to see if they would agree before he was up on his feet, Lance tucked safely in his arms. Keith walked briskly to the med bay where Coran had a pod ready. 

“Put him in here, Number Four. Though, I may need to rethink my classifications. It seems you have grown since we have last seen you.” Coran smiled at Keith as he opened up a pod for Lance. Keith shrugged and gently placed Lance in the pod, brushing his bangs out of his face, before he stepped back. The glass rose, sealing Lance in the cryopod and starting the healing process.

“How long will he be in there, Coran?” Keith asked without removing his eyes from Lance’s still form suspended in the glowing blue light of the pod. 

“Let me take a look.” Coran replied and typed in a command on the console of the cryopod. Keith watched as Coran read over the lines of Altean script on the screen. “He should be out in a few vargas, but he shouldn’t be in there for more than a quintant.” Keith nodded and continued to watch Lance in the cryopod, his ears drooping.

“I wanted to talk to the team about everything that has happened… but I’m not leaving until Lance is out.” Keith said softly to Coran and pressed his forehead against the cryopod. Coran clapped a hand on Keith’s shoulder causing Keith to look back at him.

“I will send the team around when Lance gets out. Do not worry so much, my boy, Lance will be okay.” Coran gave Keith a smile and walked out, leaving Keith alone in the room. 

“What am I going to do with you…” Keith sighed and stared up at Lance’s still form. 

Lance h

* * *

eard a muffled swishing sound before he was suddenly falling forward. His eyes shot open and he flailed for half a second before warm, strong arms stopped his fall. “Wh-what?” Lance croaked out and looked up, meeting Keith’s eyes.

“You passed out… we had to put you in the pods.” Keith said gently, holding Lance closer. “You had two broken ribs and a bad concussion. You had me really worried.” Keith held him tighter and pressed his face into his hair, letting out a small rumbling sound.

“I’m sorry.” Lance pressed his face into Keith’s chest. “I didn’t mean to worry you.” He relaxed a little listening to the rumbling - _ purring-  _ coming from Keith’s chest. Keith rubbed his hand in circles on Lance’s back.

“Now that I know you’re safe,” Keith pulled Lance back a little to look him in the eyes, “tell me what I missed. Why were you in Black and wearing the black paladin armor? Where’s Shiro?” Keith looked a little frantic.

Lance rubbed his thumb on Keith’s hip, “I’m the new black paladin… no more lion switches. All those switches have been leading up to me becoming the black paladin, at least that’s how Black explained it to me. The Shiro that you brought onto the ship… he wasn’t the actual Shiro. He was some sort of clone controlled by that witch Haggar. He,” Lance paused and ghosted a hand over his own throat, “he tried to kill me.” Keith sucked in a breath and pulled Lance closer, his ears flattening against his skull. 

“Where is he? I need to have a  _ word _ with this clone.” Keith growled out, his fangs bared at the perceived threat to his mate. Lance shook his head and reached a hand up to pet Keith’s ear in hopes of calming him. 

“I killed him before he could finish the job.” Lance paused to gauge Keith’s reaction. Sure, he hadn’t killed the  _ real _ Shiro, but Lance didn’t know how the other would take the news that Lance had been able to kill someone like that. 

“Good.” Keith relaxed and tilted his head into Lance’s hand, the purring starting up again. “So what’s the plan, Mr. Black Paladin?” He chuckled a little and smiled down at Lance. 

“The plan right now is to look for Shiro as we liberate planets and add them to the Coalition, but…” Lance paused and looked up at Keith with a sly smirk, “I have a feeling you were also wondering about what the plan is for us.” 

Keith bit his lip lightly and nodded his head. “I am… Now that we have both acknowledged the courtship a couple things have to happen, otherwise my Galra side will start freaking out.” 

“And what are those things?” Lance tilted his head to the side. He knew that he was going to accept Keith’s courtship and agree to be his mate. Contrary to popular belief, Lance did his research, so he knew that Galra mated for life. He was ready for that because he already knew that Keith was everything he would ever want. But… that didn’t mean that Lance couldn’t mess with Keith a little first. 

“Well… if you want to be together, you’ll need to verbally accept the mateship and then there’s the physical marking… Also, you need to understand that Galra mate for life… so if you accept, it’ll be like we’re getting married, except if you decide to break it off with me later on…” Keith shivered, “Let’s just say we don’t want to find out what happens.” His eyes traced over Lance’s features, memorizing everything in case he never got this chance again. “So… what do you say?”

Lance feigned like he was thinking, “Well.. I don’t know…” He smirked, “I am a lot to handle… and I know you will be as well. See, I’ve been doing some reading up on Galra habits and I know you’re going to go through some weird stuff.” He watched Keith’s ears droop a little before he reached a hand up to cup Keith’s cheek, “I want you Keith, now and forever.” Lance pushed up on his tiptoes and kissed Keith deeply, catching the half-Galran by surprise. Keith’s grip tightened around Lance’s waist as he pulled Lance closer. 

Keith pulled away after a few moments of kissing, “Is that a yes?” He asked breathlessly.

Lance laughed and gave Keith another chaste kiss, “Yes, you big dummy! You’re stuck with me now.”

“I didn’t make such a great leader, but maybe now I can be a great right hand man and an even better mate. Lance…” Keith breathed out and pressed his forehead to Lance’s, “Lance I love you so so much… I am so glad you said yes.”

Lance smiled softly and rubbed his thumb on Keith’s jaw, “We’re in this together. So, don’t worry, we’ll find Shiro, together, and we’ll finally get our family back in one place.”

“I like the sound of that.” Keith said softly before pulling Lance into another kiss. They may not know where the real Shiro is, but as far as the two of them were concerned, anything was now possible because after all, they do make a great team. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed!!  
> If you enjoy my work and wanna help me out, go check out my tumblr for my links.


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